he is said to dwell in the castle of Kronborg, his beard grown down to the floor, and to sleep there until some date when Denmark is in mortal danger, at which time he will rise up and deliver the nation

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Is Netanyahu's Re-election In Jeopardy?

Good lord, I hope Israel doesn't make one of the biggest mistakes of its history in the upcoming elections. If Israel turns to a more liberal leader, it could be disastrous. Pray for Bibi.

He is said to have demanded an end to bickering within his Likud party and a bigger role for grassroots workers after successive surveys and a series of embarrassing publicity flops following his decision to merge with Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party.

His intervention comes after the latest poll – published by Haaretz newspaper – showed the Likud Beitenu bloc poised to win just 34 seats in the Knesset in the January 22 poll, down from a current total of 42.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Lieberman, who recently resigned as foreign minister to fight corruption charges, forged a formal electoral pact in October in the belief that it would enable them to win as many as 45 seats, as forecast by the prime minister's US election adviser, Arthur Finkelstein, a noted Republican strategist.

But current projections could leave Mr Netanyahu dependent on smaller parties on the hard-Right to form a new coalition.

Opinion surveys show a surge in support for the pro-settler Jewish Home party, led by Mr Netanyahu's former chief-of-staff, Naftali Bennett, the son of American immigrants who made his fortune by selling a computer-software company he founded.

The latest figures would see Jewish Home jump from three to 14 seats, which would give it a potentially decisive role in the 120-seat Knesset. Polls show right-wing parties likely to win 67 seats, compared with 53 for centrist and centre-left groupings.

The Jewish Home's rising poll numbers has harried Likud strategists into a series of missteps that have inadvertently bolstered Mr Bennett's popularity. An unofficial pro-Likud website prompted a flood of complaints this week after posting a photo of him pictured behind barbed wire with an accompanying caption reading, "The Jewish Ghetto."

That followed an unsuccessful attempt by Mr Netanyahu to lambast Mr Bennett, who has served in an elite army unit, for implying that he would refuse to carry out commands to evict West Bank settlers from their homes.

Mr Netanyahu, who has campaigned on a theme that he is the strong Prime Minister Israel needs, was confronted with evidence of his own waning popularity last Sunday when staff had to close partition doors at a hustings speech in Nazareth to disguise the low attendance.

Staff promptly cancelled a keynote event in the town of Holon for fear of another low turnout and were ordered to focus instead on a youth rally scheduled for this Sunday, Maariv newspaper reported.

One campaign worker described the prime minister as shouting at staff in scenes that created "panic".

"The entire election staff is working to bring participants to the youth conference," the worker told Maariv. "Ever since Netanyahu shouted at us, there has been complete panic among the staff."

Mr Netanyahu's electoral troubles have been compounded by a rising mood of revolt among Israeli diplomats, dismayed at having to explain a recent rush of settlement announcements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The Legend.....

but should danger ever come, then Holger Danske will rouse himself, and the table will burst asunder as he draws out his beard. Then he will come forth in his strength, and strike a blow that shall sound in all the countries of the world.

- Hans Christian Andersen

Holger Danske

....he is stirring

Holger Awakens

An American of Swedish, Norwegian and not the least, Danish descent.

A fighter of islamofascism and islamic jihad, a defender of the U.S. Constitution and America, a full supporter of the U.S. troops and the state of Israel and a true conservative at heart, but above all, before all...a humble servant of Jesus Christ.